Ad policies and review

Why did Meta reject my B2B ad for 'personal attributes', and how do I rewrite the copy?

By The Tofu team ·

Meta rejects ads that assert or imply the viewer's personal attributes, such as age, religion, health, vulnerable financial status, criminal record or name. It also bans ads that "imply knowledge of personal or organizational financial information." In B2B copy, the trap is usually a "you" line that assumes something about the reader or their company, like Meta's example "Are you bankrupt?" Job titles and company size aren't on Meta's lists, though Meta hasn't ruled on them. To fix it, describe the problem or product in general terms, then edit the ad (which resubmits it) or request a review.

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As of November 2026.

What does Meta's personal attributes policy ban?

Meta's policy, called Privacy Violations and Personal Attributes, says ads can't:

  • Share or ask for the personal attributes of a user or their family.
  • Imply that the advertiser knows someone's personal attributes, or their family's.
  • "Imply knowledge of personal or organizational financial information of a user or user's family."
  • "Imply that the advertiser is aware of someone's personally identifiable information, such as their name."
  • Imply knowledge of medical information about a user or their family.

Meta's reason: "Ads that make assumptions about people could be perceived as intrusive, unsettling or inaccurate." Its Help Center adds that such ads "can lead to negative experiences and lower ad engagement (for example, fewer clicks, views and conversions)," and recommends that you "focus your ad on the benefits of your products or services whenever possible."

Which personal attributes are on Meta's list?

Meta has two lists, and they don't match.

  • On both: race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, physical or mental health, vulnerable financial status, voting status, membership in a trade union, criminal record and name.
  • Only in the Help Center article: color, national origin, sex, family status, and medical or genetic condition.
  • Only on the Transparency Center policy page: beliefs.

Meta's advertising policy checklist says ads can't reference or imply a user's personal characteristics, "including but not limited to" race, ethnicity, religion, beliefs and sexual orientation. So treat the two lists together as the minimum. Neither list includes job title, seniority, industry, employer or company size.

Can I say "Are you a CFO?" in a Meta ad?

Meta hasn't said. A job title isn't on either of Meta's lists. Meta's Help Center says "you can use the words 'you' or 'your' as long as your ad doesn't mention any prohibited personal attributes." Its Transparency Center lets ads broadly reference attributes that aren't listed, "such as calling someone 'American' or 'New Yorker' to reference where they live." But we found no Meta example that rules on job titles either way, Meta's checklist calls its list "not limited to," and its review "relies primarily on automated technology." Directive, a B2B agency, reads the policy more strictly: it describes it as covering a person's "job, employer, health, or financial status" and advises against "claiming to know the individual reader's exact role."

Two cautions. A job-title line breaks the policy once it carries a listed attribute or your company's finances: "Are you a CFO over 60?" brings in age, and "CFO, is your company behind on payroll?" implies organizational financial information. And a label is lower risk: "For CFOs: close the month in days, not weeks" names the audience without asking the reader to confirm who they are. That fits GrowthSpree's advice to "frame around the role or situation, not an implied personal trait."

Which kinds of B2B ad copy break the policy?

The lines below are our examples, matched to Meta's rules and its own examples. They aren't Meta rulings.

B2B line that can get rejectedThe Meta rule it runs intoA safer rewrite
"Is your company running out of cash?"Implies knowledge of "organizational financial information""Cash flow forecasting for growing companies"
"Just closed your Series B?"Same: it implies you know the company's funding"Built for teams scaling after a Series B"
"Facing bankruptcy? We can restructure your debt."Vulnerable financial status. Meta's example: "Are you bankrupt? Our firm has solutions."Meta's advice: explain how your firm can help someone going through bankruptcy
"Over 55 and still running sales?"Age. Meta's example: "people like you who just turned 62" violatesMeta allows "Age is just a number. Anyone can now learn coding with our C program."
"Network with other women in SaaS"Sex, on the Help Center list. Meta's closest example, for gender identity: "Network with other trans professionals." violates"A network for women in SaaS"
"Hi Dana, your trial ends Friday"Name. Meta's example: "Billy Taylor, get this t-shirt with your name in print!""See plans and pricing"
"Is your team burned out and quitting?"Directive, a B2B agency, says "Is your team burned out?" implies a health attributeDirective's rewrite: "Lean teams often face burnout and turnover"

How do I rewrite pain-point copy without implying I know the reader?

  1. Make the problem general. Talk about the situation, not the reader. Directive rewrites "Still buried in bad debt?" as "Cash flow gaps slow down growing businesses." GrowthSpree, a B2B SaaS agency, rewrites "You keep losing deals to a messy CRM" as "Sales teams waste hours on manual CRM cleanup."
  2. Lead with what the product does. That is Meta's own advice. Meta's alternative for its criminal record example is to "Speak about your company's expertise in this field."
  3. Name the group, but don't put the reader in it. Meta allows "Meet seniors" and rejects "Meet other seniors." It allows "Find black singles today." and rejects "Meet other black singles near you!" In these examples, the word "other" is what puts the reader in the group.
  4. Use "you" for the benefit, not the condition. "Get your board deck done in an hour" is about the product. "Is your company losing money?" is about the reader's finances.
  5. Don't write your targeting into the copy. If you reached people by job title, company list or funding stage, write the ad as if you didn't know. Copy that repeats what you targeted reads as the assumption Meta's policy is about.

Why was my ad rejected when it doesn't name a listed attribute?

Review can read more into a line than you meant. GrowthSpree gives "Still losing deals because reps can't find the right content?" as the classic B2B hook that "trips the personal-attributes rule," and Directive says the personal attributes policy is where B2B advertisers get caught most often. Meta says its enforcement "isn't perfect, and both machines and people make mistakes." If a rewrite would cost you nothing, edit the ad. If you're sure the ad complies, request a review.

How do I fix a rejected ad?

  1. Find the reason. Meta emails you when an ad is rejected, with a link to Business Support Home "where you can find the reason for the rejection."
  2. Don't delete the ad. Meta warns that "you may lose your ability to request another review if the ad is deleted."
  3. Edit it, or make a new one. Meta says an edited ad "will automatically be submitted for another review." Most ads are reviewed within 24 hours. If the ad type can't be edited, create a new ad.
  4. Or request a review. In Business Support Home, select the account, select the rejected ads, then click Request review and Submit. Meta aims to decide within 48 hours and relies "more heavily on teams of human reviewers" for these. If it overturns the rejection, it doesn't count as an ad violation. If the ad is rejected again, you can't request another review of that ad.

Editing or deleting a rejected ad doesn't remove the violation from your account, and severe or repeated violations can restrict your ad account. If ads that ran fine for months are now being rejected, see why Meta rejects ads that ran fine. If your ad is stuck in review instead, see why a Meta ad is stuck in review.

Does the policy apply to images and video too?

Yes. Meta's review covers "Images, video, or text," plus targeting and the ad's destination. Check words on your images, in video captions and on carousel cards, not just the primary text and headline.

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